OBT Forum

Well, I couldn't find my old Knights here on the boards for Takiro or Irose, so I reposted it (also reworked it--tweaked it rather--just a bit).  Since it is replacing the Aegis class in the FedSuns Navy for the Reunificiation War, I figured it had best be a little bit less effective than the SLDF cruiser.  The Knight is an ok ship for the era, but its not gonna win any prizes for speed, firepower, or armor protection.  Instead, it is a general-service jack-of-all-trades cruiser that could probably be found in the Fleet of every Great House.  Anyway, use her or don't use her--that is up to you guys and how you want to proceed with the RW rewrite.  Hope you enjoy taking a look at her, though.

MA

                    AeroTech 2 Vessel Technical Readout
                                  VALIDATED

Class/Model/Name:  Knight
Tech:              Inner Sphere / 3067
Vessel Type:       WarShip
Rules:             Level 2, Custom design
Rules Set:         AeroTech2

Mass:              660,000 tons
K-F Drive System:  (Unknown)
Length:            707 meters
Sail Diameter:     1,083 meters
Power Plant:       Standard
Safe Thrust:       2
Maximum Thrust:    3
Armor Type:        Standard
Armament:         
   42 NL35
   26 NAC/10
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
==Overview:==
Introduced in 2461, the Knight class Strike Cruiser was the mainstay of House
Davions naval service throughout the Age of War.  For the period in which it
served, the Knights were heavily armed and armored, with average thrust and a
wide array of weaponry.  With the wide expanses of the Federated Suns to
patrol and protect, these ships featured large volumes dedicated to the
stowage of spare parts and cargo (as did most other Inner Sphere designs of
both the Age of War and later) in order to facilitate moving across vast
distances that might lack support facilities.

Until the Reunification Wars, the Knight class strike cruisers (and the much
larger Golden Lion class battleships) ruled the space-ways of the Federated
Suns.  Although slower and less maneuverable than Liao and Kurita designs, the
Knights made up for this with their raw hitting power.

But when the Reunification Wars erupted, these ships proved to be too lightly
armed to deal with Taurian destroyers, frigates, and cruisers.  The AFFSNS
(Armed Forces of the Federated Suns Naval Service) compounded this problem in
the decades leading up to the conflict in their training and war-fighting
doctrine.  War-games were 'weighted' in favor of the Fed Suns navy, and the
effectiveness of Taurian capital missiles disregarded.  Fighters and small
craft were seen
as little more than an annoyance to 'true' capital ships.  A general disdain
for the Taurian Concordat Navy among the flag officers of the AFFSNS also
caused the Naval Service to continually over-estimate their ability to perform
'shock and awe' against the Taurians.

As talks broke down between the Star League and the Concordat, the Federated
Suns Naval Service assembled the largest strike force in their history on the
Taurian border.  A dozen Knight class strike cruisers, escorted by the even
older Daedleus class destroyers, formed the core of the Strike Force.
Operations were planned to begin after the arrival of another dozen Knights,
a
score of destroyers (including the new Davion and Davion IIs just entering
service), and six of the Golden Lion class dreadnoughts.

However, the Taurians Case Amber provoked the Davion commander into launching
the offensive too soon.  After successfully taking four systems with minimal
opposition, the admiral commanding the Strike Force began to become concerned
about the Forces fuel status and long communication routes.  Also, the failure
of the TCN to appear in force had her worried.

The Strike Force turned about to return to Davion space.  That was when the
TCN ambushed them.  Caught exiting jump by the Taurian Fleet, more than a
dozen Davion ships were destroyed before they could even clear their weapons
for action.

Panicked by the sudden attack--and the steady, disciplined fire of the Taurian
units--the Admiral ordered the Strike Force to scatter and attempt to evade.
That order signaled the end of the Strike Force.  All twelve of the Knight
class Light Cruisers were destroyed or captured, either in ship-to-ship
action, or from concentrated fighter strikes.  Two were captured in boarding
operations by Taurian Marines.  Their escorts fared little better, with the
loss of another eighteen ships.

To make matters worse, the TCN then launched their own offensive into Davion
space, assaulting the base from where the Strike Force had originated.  This
strike, led by three of the Concordats new battleships annihilated the
facilities intended to support their operations and scattered the Fleet Train
of service and support vessels.

This disaster shocked the Naval Service--and the First Prince--to the core.
The surviving Knights were quickly refitted with extensive anti-fighter
weaponry, but little could be done about the years of neglect to doctrine and
training.  Still, by the end of the two-decade long conflict, the Knight class
Strike Cruisers that managed to survive had proved themselves in combat time
and time again.

Overworked, often heavily damaged and hastily repaired, the AFFSNS decided
that these ships were simply not cost effective to repair, refit, and retain
in service following the Wars.  By 2612, the last of them--FSS Tristan-had
been sent to the breakers. 

==Capabilities:==
At 660,000 tons, the Knight class was lighter than the Terran Hegemony
(formerly Terran Alliance) Dart class Light Cruisers.  Originally designed
before the introduction of the docking collar, the original Block I
Knight-class vessels included two bays for 5,000-ton DropShuttles.  However,
by the time of the Reunification War, all of these ships had been refitted
with two docking collars for DropShips.  These Block III upgrades also gave
the Knights two squadrons of aerospace fighters and a pair of small craft. 

Lacking appreciation for capital missiles, the Naval Service instead outfitted
the Knights with heavy hitting batteries of Naval Autocannon, supported by
lighter batteries of Naval Lasers.  Due to the cost of the weapons, the Knight
retained their original weapon mounts throughout their long service careers:
twenty-six NAC-10 Naval Autocannon and forty-two NL-35 Naval Lasers.  Not even
the pre-Reunification War Block III/b upgrade included any anti-fighter
secondary guns, but surviving units were fitted to the Block IV standard
throughout the war, giving these ships a hefty secondary armament of
twenty-four AC-5 autocannons and sixteen large lasers.

The Knight-class ships included their heaviest firepower to the right and left
broadsides (5-gun NAC-10 battery and 7-gun NL-35 battery), that gradually
diminished in the quarters arcs (3-gun NAC-10 battery and 5-gun NL-35 battery)
to the nose and stern arcs (2-gun NAC-10 battery and 4 gun-NL-35 battery).
Each NAC was given its own magazine with 50 shots, but the individual
magazines were not interlinked for ammunition transfer and could only service
the gun they were designed to supply.

At full load, the Knights could embark 450 crew and passengers, including 84
Marines--a full strength infantry company.  Over 20% of the ships volume was
dedicated to fuel, life support, food, water, spare parts, and general cargo
stowage, making these ships able to handle long deployments with a minimum
amount of support.

Nine hundred and twenty-four tons of standard armor gave the Knights above
average defensive plating for their time.  Though the Naval Service proposed
refitting these ships with Improved Ferro-Aluminum, the Marshall of the
Federated Suns rejected the idea; though all AFFSNS ships later commissioned
into service during the War would include the tougher, more resilient IFA
armor composites.

==Notable Vessels & Crews:==
The forty-two Knights that saw service with the AFFSNS were named after the
legendary Knights of the Round Table that served King Arthur in Camelot.
These ships are listed below.

Aglovale; Agravaine; Anselm; Balan; Bedwyr; Bors; Breunor; Cador; Caradoc;
Colgrevance; Constantine; Dagonet; Dinadan; Ector; Eylan; Gaheris; Galahad;
Galehaut; Galeschin; Gareth; Gawain; Geraint; Gingalain; Grifflet; Kay;
Lamorak; Lancelot; Lionel; Lucan; Maleagant; Meliant; Mordred; Norholt;
Palamedes; Pelleas; Percival; Sagramore; Safir; Segwarides; Tor; Tristan;
Ywain

Bors, Caradoc, Gaheris, Gareth, Lionel, Malegant, Percival, and Tristan were
the only Knight class Strike Cruisers to survive the war.  Despite their
heroic deeds in battle and their exceptional service to the House of Davion,
these eight ships were later sold for scrap so that the AFFSNS could construct
the heavier and more powerful fully modernized Excalibur class cruisers.

==Deployment==
Throughout most of their career, the Knights were deployed alone, or escorted
by one or two destroyers or corvettes.  These ships would cruise across the
length and width of the Federated Suns on deployments that lasted up to two
years.  These extremely lengthy deployments (along with the fact that none of
the Naval Service ships had a permanent home port) caused extensive turn-over
in enlisted personnel and junior officers.

This, in turn, lowered the quality of the Naval Service of this era.  When the
Reunification Wars began, there are just a handful of truly experienced senior
NCOs and officers in the Federated Suns Fleet.  This lack--more than any
material deficit--would prove devastating against the highly trained and
motivated TCN.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Class/Model/Name:  Knight
Mass:              660,000 tons

Equipment:                                                            Mass 
Power Plant, Drive & Control:                                       79,200.00
Thrust:  Safe Thrust: 2
      Maximum Thrust: 3
Kearny-Fuchida Hyperdrive:  Compact (Integrity = 14)               298,650.00
Jump Sail: (Integrity = 4)                                              63.00
Structural Integrity: 70                                            46,200.00
Total Heat Sinks:    2,964 Single                                    2,522.00
Fuel & Fuel Pumps:                                                   7,257.00
Bridge, Controls, Radar, Computer & Attitude Thrusters:              1,650.00
Fire Control Computers:                                                   .00
Food & Water:  (180 days supply)                                       405.00
Armor Type:  Standard  (412 total armor pts)                           924.00
                           Capital Scale Armor Pts
   Location:                            L / R
   Fore:                                 70
   Fore-Left/Right:                   70/70
   Aft-Left/Right:                    70/70
   Aft:                                  62

Cargo:
   Bay 1:  Fighters (12) with 6 doors                                1,800.00
   Bay 2:  Small Craft (2) with 2 doors                                400.00
   Bay 3:  Cargo (1) with 2 doors                                   67,528.00

DropShip Capacity:  2 Docking Hardpoints                             2,000.00
Grav Decks #1 - 2:  (95-meter diameter)                                100.00
Escape Pods:  76 (7 tons each)                                         532.00

Crew and Passengers:
     43 Officers (43 minimum)                                          430.00
    134 Crew (134 minimum)                                             938.00
     68 Gunners (68 minimum)                                           476.00
     86 2nd Class Passengers                                           602.00
     84 Marines                                                        420.00
      1 New Crew/Passenger Type                                          5.00
     34 Bay Personnel                                                     .00
Weapons and Equipment      Loc        SRV    MRV    LRV    ERV  Heat    Mass
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 NL35                     Nose        14     14     14     --  208  2,800.00
2 NAC/10(100 rounds)       Nose        20     20     20     --   60  4,020.00
5 NL35                     FL/R        18     18     18     --  520  7,000.00
3 NAC/10(150 rounds)       FL/R        30     30     30     --  180 12,060.00
7 NL35                     L/RBS       25     25     25     --  728  9,800.00
5 NAC/10(250 rounds)       L/RBS       50     50     50     --  300 20,100.00
5 NL35                     AL/R        18     18     18     --  520  7,000.00
3 NAC/10(150 rounds)       AL/R        30     30     30     --  180 12,060.00
4 NL35                     Aft         14     14     14     --  208  2,800.00
2 NAC/10(100 rounds)       Aft         20     20     20     --   60  4,020.00
1 Lot Spare Parts (10.00%)                                          66,000.00
34 Bay Personnel Quarters                                              238.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS:                                            Heat: 2,964     660,000.00
Tons Left:                                                                .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        3,418,750,512 C-Bills
Battle Value:      93,687
Cost per BV:       36,491.19
Weapon Value:      38,233 (Ratio = .41)
Damage Factors:    SRV = 3,731;  MRV = 3,731;  LRV = 2,939;  ERV = 1,131
Maintenance:       Maintenance Point Value (MPV) = 300,790
                   (53,479 Structure, 131,565 Life Support, 115,746 Weapons)
                   Support Points (SP) = 544,500  (181% of MPV)
BattleForce2:      Not applicable